Building wall structure



Feb. 20, 1940. E. WILLSON BUILDING WALL STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 8, 193a JEw/e 4 a A a v//// ///////r k Patented Feb. 20, 1 I 1 2,191,267

.. 31,191,267; II j BUILDING WALL STRUCTURE; I Lester E. .Willson;"Streator,= Ill.

Application September 8, 1938, Serial No. 228,965 i v I I 7 Claims. (Cl.i..l2 19) "z I I Y This invention relates to building" wan struc -ofea'ch'ra'il3 are oppositely inclined and extend ture and is directed to the production of a wall divergently from the base surface so that theyhaving the-appearance of standard brick conoverhang or overlie'aportiori of theouter face of struction but actually employing relatively thin thesheathingi; r

slabs or tiles in place of ordinary brick, and in Each o'fthe tiles 4 has its upper and lower edges 5 combination with other wall material on which ved a te as h wn. these grooves r the tiles are supported. One object'of theinvem' S aped in cross-section. The inner face 5 of.

tion is to provide a construction and a method of a each groove is'disposed at such an angle tothe assembly which may be'employed to erect a wall back surface of the tile and is so dimensioned that 1o readily-and accurately without requiring special the inclined'edge 3? or 3 of the rail 3 will just 0 skill. Another object is to provide awall surface overlap this surface offthe groove. le v structure which may be employed with either old remainder of the groove open, with its other face or new basic walls. Other objectswill appear as 5P exposed above the outer face of the rail 31 The the description proceeds. The invention con-f 1 back surface of the tile may be flat, or it may be 13 sists in the features and-elements of construction c s d at 8S Shown t e drawingin Order and in the steps involved incombining them intoo pr vi e anr sp nd som what reduce a finished wall structure; as herein shown and the wei t .01 t e tile. described and as indicated by the manna, 1-

. In i e ion of'this'typ of wa the'sheath- Inthe drawing: ing 2 whetherof matched-lumber or of wall I 0 Figure 1 is a partial or fragmentary'elevation board panels, or other. suitable material, is se of a building wall shown in the process of cond t0 the-,S'tlldding other framing. thus struction for illustrating certain steps of the providing a broad, flat, vertical surface. The method constituting'this invention. rai1sf3 are attached-tothis surface, extending Figure 2.is a'vertical section taken as'indicated ho zontally, e eo ed sp d partip elp at line 2-2 on Figure 1 ,and on asomewhat' to each other;cat uniform intervals. These jrails I larger scale. 3 may be applied to the'sheathing afterthe latter Figure '3 is a fragmentary perspective view of. h been attached to the Supporting f a d one form of supporting rail for the tiles. q this will necessarily be the method if the sheath- Fig re 4 is a fragmentary. perspective view of ingconsist'sofmatched lumber, or if the exterior another form f supportingraui til surface ofthisinventionds being applied to so Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a an old building of frame construction, from metallic supporting rail. which the originalclapboard [siding or'shingles Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view! of have been removed so as to leave the wooden another form of metallic railfi i sheathing exposed. i

, Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the tiles. w v r. f n w c n n. n to xpe i e Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showe p ce s of e g the building. it 'W be ing rivets a n m a of securing -t -t preferable to have the rails secured permanently backing member when these parts are assembled to t w b05131 Panels b e they are erected.

at the factory. I V I and, of course, this can be most effectively done 40 The improved wallstructure which is the subat the factory under conditions which will insure 40 ject of this invention may. include any suitable that the lsa e a ly sp d I Parallel supporting framing, such as the usualvertical relation to each other and securely fastened in studdingmembers l employed in a. wooden frame permanent fashidn} for example, y riVBtS.'$0 building, sheathing, which may be wallboard 2 5 that, in effect, they become integral features of 5 such as, for examplefthe commercial product 't eWa b0a d-, It m lb P e to orm 4 known as fCel otex," a series of parallel supporting the wall, board itself with projecting, under-cut rails 3 applied to the outer surface of the sheathribs of the cross section of the rails illustrated ing, and rows of tile 4 positioned between the rails herein, so that the rails will be actually integral 3 and*inter1ocked therewith by virtue of the for .1 parts of the panel. I mation'of the rails and the tiles about to be'de-v Whetherthe rails'a're applied on the'iob or at 59 scribed. Preferably, the rails 3 are under-cut" .the factory, the insertion of the tiles 4is preferso that their outer surfaces are broader than their ably" performed on the .job asthe erectionof the opposite'surfaces, which are secured against the I building progresses In this way the weight of 1 face of 'the sheathing or wall board 2." As shown" the wall panels is kept within reasonable limits in Figure 2, the upper and lower edges 39 and 3? I so that they canbe con'veniently handled for 55 erection, and the tiles themselves can be shipped more safely than if .they were assembled with the wall panels in advance. The tiles 4 are inserted between each pair of rails 3 being entered therein, preferably at the corner of the building, or other convenient point of entry, as indicated in Figure 1, and being slidably positioned with suitable spaces between the ends of adjacent tiles. The spaces in adjacent rows of tiles may be arranged in staggered relation to simulate the usual running bond of brick-work, or the arrangement may be varied to produce the appearance of other bonds, if desired; and, of course, it will be obvious that half-length tiles may be employed where required. The insertion of the tiles can be performed very rapidly with the supporting rails 3 already in place; and, in fact, a man can stand at the corner of the building and simply feed the tiles into the spaces between thev rails, pushing each row along as tiles are added thereto. After the end spacing of the first course has been determined, the additional courses can be rapidly spaced to produce the proper configuration, and where the tile-covered area is interrupted by a door or window frame, the spaces between the tiles at either side of such frame can be adjusted so as to distribute the tiles to the best advantage in the available space. With this method a large area may be tentatively arranged with the tiles left loose between the rails until the best arrangement has been determined.

As indicated in Figure 2, the rails 3 ifapplied after erection of the sheathing, may be secured ,by means of nails driven through the outer faces of the rails and into the sheathing. If the sheathing is rather thin, these nails may be located so as to penetrate the studding l for a firm anchorage strip of wood, as indicated in Figure 3. Figure 4 is intended to illustrate such a rail 3 made of composite material, such as Celotex or fiber board.

As a final step, the tiles are tuck-pointed by the application of any suitable cementitious ma terial in the spaces between the 'ends of adjacent tiles; and also in the spaces between the rows. The latter spaces are determined 'by the width of 'the rails 3, which is such as to hold the rows apart by a suitable distance to give the appearance of a standard brick wall construction. The tuck-pointing material, indicated at 6 in Figure 2, not only fills the spaces between the face areas of the tiles 4 but fiows into the unfilled portions of the grooves so as to engage the faces 5 of these grooves. Thus, the tuckpointing material is interlocked with the tiles, and even if it should not permanently bond therewith, it cannot readily fall out of place.

Figure 5 illustrates a rail 3 which can be formed of sheet metal with a central base portion which the securing nails will hold flatly against the sheathing 2 while the lateral wing portions are bent up therefrom in angular relation to the base for engagement with the faces 5 of the grooves or channels in the tiles. However, with this form of rail, there will be a deeper space to be filled with the tuck-pointing material. This disadvantage may be overcome by using'a sheet metal rail of the form shown at 3 in Figure 6, in which the fiat web portion is of the full width to extend between the bottoms of the grooves 5 in adjacent tiles; wing portions, bent at acute angles from the web, provide bearing faces to engage the faces 5 of the grooves in the tiles, and also serve to space the web outward from the Each rail 3 may be made of a face of the sheathing 2 when the nails or fastening rivets are inserted through the web for securing the rail in place.

It will be noted that, whichever form of rail is employed, the rivets or nails are so located that their heads will not interfere with the smooth sliding insertion of the tiles when they are entered between adjacent rails. The fastening means are disposed in the space betweenthe tiles but against a surface of the rail which does not contact with the tiles. But both the rails and the will be noted that the groove or channel 5 is so placed in the edge of the tile that the face 5*? meets the back surface of the tile in a comparatively sharp edge at 4 The opposite face 5*? of the channel is set back from the outer face of the tile so as to leave a marginal edge surface 4*. Thus the inclined face 5 meets the surface 4 in an obtuse angle, andthe marginal portion of the outer face is provided with sufficient backing to prevent it from becoming readily chipped or broken. The surface 4 extending in a plane substantially at right angles to the outer face of the tile 4 also gives the tile the appearance of standard brick when the tuck-pointing at B is in place, filling the groove 5 but leaving a small .part of the area 4* exposed.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and re-arrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the same is not limited to the particular form herein shown and described, except in so far as indicated by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wall structure which includes a backing layer which has a continuous fiat outer surface, a plurality of parallel, under-cut rails projecting therefrom with their under surfaces spaced from said outer surface of the backing layer and spaced apart at regular intervals, a plurality of tiles disposed in rows in the spaces between said rails and each having portionsat two opposite margins engaged between the outer face of the backing and the under surfaces of the respectively adjacent rails, said tiles being spaced apart at their ends and the edges of. adjacent rows of tiles being spaced apart, and cementitious material occupying the spaces between said tiles.

2. A wall structure which includes a backing layer, a plurality of parallel, under-cut rails projecting therefrom and spaced apart at regular intervals, a plurality of tiles disposed in rows in the spaces between said rails, and each having grooves in two opposite edges engaged with the respectively adjacent rails, said tiles being spaced apart by said rails and the rails occupying only a part of the width of each groove, and cementitious material in the spaces between tiles, covering the rails and extending intothe remaining unoccupied portion of each groove in interlocking engagement with the tiles.

3. In a wall structure, a backing layer, a plurality of parallel rails spaced apart thereon to receive facing tiles between them, each tile having two opposite edge surfaces formed with longitudinal, V-shaped grooves, one face of each groove meeting the back face of. the tile, and the opposite face forming an obtuse angle with a marginal edge surface of the tile extending from the plane of its front face to said groove, the rails having outwardly divergent sloping surfaces overhanging the backing layer at an angle for engagement with the first mentioned faces of the grooves in, the tiles, the width of each rail being sufficient to space apartv the tiles-engaged with its respective sloping faces, and the thickness of the rail being less than the width of the grooves in said tiles so that tuck-pointing material applied between the tiles will flow into the grooves.

4. In a wall structure, a backing layer, a plurality of parallel rails spaced apart thereon to receive facing tiles between them, each tile 'having two opposite edge surfaces formed with longitudinal v -shaped grooves, the outer face of each groove forming an obtuse angle with a marginal edge surface of the tileextending from. the plane of its front face to said groove, and the rails having outwardly divergent sloping surfaces engaging the inner faces of the grooves in the tiles, the width of each rail being sufficient to space apart the tiles engaged with its respective sloping faces and the thickness of the rail being less than the width of the grooves in said tiles so that tuckpointing material applied between the, tiles may occupy portions of their grooves.

5. In a wall structure, a backing layer, a plurality of parallel rails spaced apart thereon, each rail having a flat surface disposed against-the backing'layer with divergent sloping surfaces extending from said fiat surface in spaced relation to the face of the backing layer and theouter surfaces with headedfastening means extending through the rails into the backing layer with their heads engaging said outer surfaces-of the rails, together with facing tiles disposed between said parallel rails, each tile'having'two opposite edge surfaces formed with longitudinal V-shaped grooves, thev marginal portions of the rails 00- cupying the portions of said grooves nearest the backing layer, whereby the outer face of the rails afford smooth, unobstructed surfaces for- ,slidably engaging the tiles as they are adjusted to position, the heads of the fastening means being disposed between the rows of tiles and out of contact therewith.

6. As an article of manufacture, a panel of a panel of backing layer and said divergent faces of the rails into the panel with their heads engaging the outer faces of the rails within the middle portions, of said faces to avoid obstructing tiles engaged between the rails and slidably adjustable along them.

LESTER E. 

